Fall 2024

Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Greetings and welcome to the new academic year!

After leading IU Northwest as chancellor for four years, I am honored to follow in the footsteps of Susan Sciame-Giesecke as the new Vice President for Regional Campuses and Online Education.

I am passionate about the mission of regional campuses and the life-impacting work of our faculty, staff, and senior leadership in advancing academic and teaching excellence, driving the socio-economic mobility of our students, and partnering with our communities to strengthen economic, social, and civic engagement.

The multi-faceted areas of our office–online education, PK-12 partnerships, finance, and our student-centered and academic-focused faculty fellows - will continue to advance this noble mission in support of all Indiana University.

Our office will seek to inform a deeper understanding of the value of higher education within our regions and across the state to generate greater collaborations and resources to benefit our students.

I am pleased to introduce new leadership members who support our work, and I encourage you to visit our website for more information and news about the regional campuses and our office.

Ken Iwama
Vice President for Regional Campuses and Online Education

News

Regional Faculty Caucus (RFC) 2024-2025

The RFC is convened by the Vice President for Regional Campuses and Online Education and is comprised of the Faculty Presidents from each regional campus. Its purpose is to facilitate communication and collaboration between the regional faculty governance bodies and coordinate common policy initiatives among the regional campuses. The RFC members for 2024-25 are:

Gregory Dam, Ph.D., IU East, Chair of RFC
William Allegrezza, Ph.D., IU Northwest
Steve Cox, Ph.D., IU Kokomo
Steven Gerencser, Ph.D., IU South Bend
Susan L. Popham, Ph.D., IU Southeast

More about the RFC here.

Team Updates

Welcome to Mark Baer, serving as Interim Assistant Vice President for Online Academic Affairs at IU Online.

Mark Baer joined the IU Online team in May 2024 as the Interim Assistant Vice President for Online Academic Affairs, following a year as a Faculty Fellow to the Vice President for Regional Campuses and Online Education (VPRCOE). In this role, he supports AVP Chris Foley in overseeing Online Academic Affairs, including collaborative program management, program review and assessment, instructional design services, and instructional support. Baer collaborates with faculty across Indiana University to foster relationships and enhance program quality and delivery.

Learn more about Mark

Welcome to Sarah Heath, Ph.D., serving as Faculty Fellow for VPRCOE

Sarah, a Professor of History from Indiana University Kokomo, was appointed as the Regional Faculty Fellow in August 2024. This role requires collaboration across the IU regional campuses. Heath leads and manages assigned projects across the IU regional campuses; engages various constituencies to develop and implement solutions to advance the University’s mission; and collaborates across various campuses and organizations to facilitate responses to the issues facing the regional campus faculty.

Learn more about Sarah

Welcome to Leah Nellis, Ph.D., serving as Interim Assistant Vice President for Office of School Partnerships (OSP).

Leah Nellis was appointed Interim Assistant Vice President for School Partnerships in March 2024. In this role, Leah leads the IU OSP which provides cohesion, visibility, and support for P-12 initiatives across IU's campuses and represents IU with P-12 policy leaders. She works with faculty and staff from across IU’s campuses, P-12 school partners, and education leaders and policy makers to leverage partnerships and strengthen P-12 education and opportunities for P-12 students.